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Super Bowl XLII was described by an Associated Press reporter as arguably one of the greatest upsets ever. The game had largely been dictated by defensive dominance throughout the first three quarters. Tom Brady was sacked five times[26] and knocked down several more times as his offensive line was largely unable to handle the Giants’ blitz. The Patriots record-setting offense was held to just 14 points and 274 yards.

After calling tails to win the coin toss, the Giants started the game with a 16-play, 63-yard drive that consumed 9:59 (the longest drive in Super Bowl history) and featured four third down conversions, the most ever on the opening drive of a Super Bowl. New England halted the drive on their own 14-yard line. Lawrence Tynes kicked a 32-yard field goal to give New York a 3-0 lead.

New England responded with a scoring drive of their own. Lawrence Maroney returned the kickoff 43 yards to the 44-yard line. Then Maroney rushed twice for 12 yards, and Tom Brady completed 3 passes for 23. After two incompletions, New York linebacker Antonio Pierce committed pass interference while covering tight end Benjamin Watson in the end zone, moving the ball 16 yards to the 1-yard line. This set up Maroney’s 1-yard touchdown run two plays later out of the Patriots’ jumbo package, on the first play of the second quarter. The two teams had each only had one drive in the entire first quarter, a Super Bowl record.